Getting best sound quality when driving Home theater with FLAC/mp3 player

[chizim]

Hi guys this is my first post, I need an audio guru to help me out please.
How can I get the best sound out of my home theater system when driving the AUX input

with my Cowon J3 portable FLAC/mp3 player. I play only FLAC files and use a DENON

AVR-1911 home theater receiver.
I noticed that the sound is not quite right or "complete" when I drive the AUX inputs

directly with the Cowon J3 portable media player, but comes alive when the Cowon J3

drives a headphone amplifier, and the headphone amplifier drives the home theater AUX

input.
Is there a home theater receiver out there which allows me to directly drive its AUX

inputs with a portable media player, and still receive excellent sound? Or is there a

better way to drive my DENON system with this portable media player? Would a MARANTZ

NR1501 A/V receiver do a better job?

Thanks guys

 

[avnetguy]

Not sure about the AUX input but you'd be better off (sound quality wise) playing the files from the receiver via a usb interface. Not sure if the 1911 does flac but some other receivers do.

Steve

 

[markw]

It's not a receiver problem.

That AUX input works with a "line-level" signal, which is pretty much a standard.

It sounds like the MP3 players earphone jack doesn't provide enough juice to drive the receiver's AUX inputs. That' not an uncommon complaint, and many receivers need to be "cranked" in order to provide satisfying volume. Your headphone amp seems to provide the added oomph.

Now, if that player had a digital output available, perhaps what the previous poster suggested might do the trick. If not, perhaps an external DAC might provide a higher output.

Also, some players have a dedicated "dock" available that can put out a true "line out" which can be more powerful than the earphone out.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

This should do the trick:
http://www.amazon.com/COWON-AV-TV-out-cable/dp/B001PNZ00G

 

[chizim]

Not sure about the AUX input but you'd be better off (sound quality wise) playing the files from the receiver via a usb interface. Not sure if the 1911 does flac but some other receivers do.

Steve

Thanks. Do you have an recommendations for receivers which accept USB music input? I dont really consider iphones to have good enough audio quality. Does this matter if I played back via USB?

 

[avnetguy]

Thanks. Do you have an recommendations for receivers which accept USB music input? I dont really consider iphones to have good enough audio quality. Does this matter if I played back via USB?

There are quite a number of receivers that will play off a usb drive but you'd have to check their feature list to make sure the codecs (flac, wma, mp3, etc) you want are supported. Normally the higher priced units will support more codecs but I think the mid-range receivers are giving pretty good support now.

Quality isn't important if you are just reading from the device's usb interface, it's just digital data at that point. Just make sure the device(s) you have will show up as a usb drive when connected. Also note that the playback control (song/playlist selection) will be through the receiver and not by the usb connected device if you go this route.

Steve

 

[chizim]

That AUX input works with a "line-level" signal, which is pretty much a standard.

It sounds like the MP3 players earphone jack doesn't provide enough juice to drive the receiver's AUX inputs. That' not an uncommon complaint, and many receivers need to be "cranked" in order to provide satisfying volume. Your headphone amp seems to provide the added oomph.

Now, if that player had a digital output available, perhaps what the previous poster suggested might do the trick. If not, perhaps an external DAC might provide a higher output.

Also, some players have a dedicated "dock" available that can put out a true "line out" which can be more powerful than the earphone out.

Thanks a million for your replay. About the external DAC you mentioned, wouldnt my FLAC/mp3 player need to have a digital output in order to use an external DAC?

 

[bikemig]

Hi guys this is my first post, I need an audio guru to help me out please.
How can I get the best sound out of my home theater system when driving the AUX input

with my Cowon J3 portable FLAC/mp3 player. I play only FLAC files and use a DENON

AVR-1911 home theater receiver.
I noticed that the sound is not quite right or "complete" when I drive the AUX inputs

directly with the Cowon J3 portable media player, but comes alive when the Cowon J3

drives a headphone amplifier, and the headphone amplifier drives the home theater AUX

input.
Is there a home theater receiver out there which allows me to directly drive its AUX

inputs with a portable media player, and still receive excellent sound? Or is there a

better way to drive my DENON system with this portable media player? Would a MARANTZ

NR1501 A/V receiver do a better job?

Thanks guys

I'm curious, did you have the volume in your mp3 player turned up all the way? That should give you a line out signal.

If you want to play it via usb, you could get a CD player that has one rather than buy a new receiver. This Yamaha has one, http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-CD-C600BL-5-Disc-Changer-Black/dp/B002NKM4C2/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I394C240RK8G1L&colid=12AAQ7VFNB2CL.

 

[markw]

Thanks a million for your replay. About the external DAC you mentioned, wouldnt my FLAC/mp3 player need to have a digital output in order to use an external DAC?

Yes. That's why I said this in my post.

Now, if that player had a digital output available, perhaps what the previous poster suggested might do the trick. If not, perhaps an external DAC might provide a higher output.

Perhaps I should have bolded/underlined the "If"?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

What part of getting cheap $7 cable with proper line out would most likely fix your issue you didn't get?

 

[chizim]

What part of getting cheap $7 cable with proper line out would most likely fix your issue you didn't get?

Actually the suggested "line out" cable weblink is a video cable and would not work for audio only files. (At least one of the reviewers on Amazon mentioned this).
Thanks anyway for your input, appreciate your time.

 

[avnetguy]

If you have any high bitrate MP3 files on your Cowon you can try those out, just connect the usb cable to the Denon 1911 and see how it sounds.

Steve

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Actually the suggested "line out" cable weblink is a video cable and would not work for audio only files. (At least one of the reviewers on Amazon mentioned this).
Thanks anyway for your input, appreciate your time.

then it's possibly my mistake, I apologize for my previous harsh response.

 

[33Gerry45]

That is like a breath of fresh air when a poster apologizes and says 'my bad'.

It means that the forum is more concerned with getting things technically right than individuals just making sure they are right even if they are wrong.


I salute the poster who said that because it means that instead of flame matches this forum is encouraging us all to seek better solutions to our tech problems and questions.

 

[sterling shoote]

Here's my route: flac file, or any other for that matter, from USB to X-FI HD to Toslink 24/96 capable input on HT preamp/processor (Sony TA-E9000ES). I also have used the X-FI's DAC, sending RCA to the preamp. I prefer however using the preamps converter. At any rate, either connection sounds really good, indistinguishable from SACD.